Managing & Teaming in a Virtual World

The VISIBILITY Conundrum for Telecommuters

Anytime I ask managers what decision makers really consider when deciding who to promote or differentially reward, VISIBILITY is always at the top of the list regardless of the organization. Visibility can certainly mean different things to different people. Most of the time in this case, it means the decision makers can physically see you or are keenly aware of you doing things they value – whether it be significantly contributing to a key project or above and beyond performance on a key goal, etc.

With telecommuting and other flexible work options in play in our organizations today, how do we handle the "visibility" conundrum. There are two important pieces to this puzzle: 1. How to help telecommuters get the visibility needed and deserved, and 2. How to change the VISIBILITY NORM, i.e., the expectations around physical visibility that are needed for advancement. Item 1 needs to go up. And Item 2 needs to go down in its current definition and at the same be redefined for the new world order.

Ways to garner more visbility for your telecommuter…Have them lead an important project; Have telecommuters skilled in a particular area, coach others (non-telecommuters and telecommuters); Have a telecommuter lead a virtual team meeting; Have a telecommuter conduct a training session.

Ways to change the Visibility Norm…as a management team, plan a special meeting to discuss advancement criteria inlight of the new flexible work options in play in your organization. It's important to have a frank and direct discussion of what is now and what will need to change as employee work habits change. Since new or modified criteria will involve a behavior change on the part of the managers, have everyone agree to hold each other accountable in a professional manner by calling each other on it when they sway and acknowledging each other when they adhere to the agreed approach.

The Polarization Trap

It's all in the way you think about telecommuting that will drive your management approach. Are you managing telecommuters or are you managing an organization that includes one of many flexible work options, one of which is telecommuting? If you look at your organization as telecommuters and non-telecommuters, you may inadvertently polarize the group.

Treating telecommuters and non-telecommuters differently is an easy trap to fall into. Recently, someone asked me if they should have their telecommuters report to the team what they are working on so the onsite team would know the telecommuters are working hard like everyone else.

No, no, no! If it's just the telecommuters reporting, this will polarize the team. It looks like need to justify their work and the onsite folks don't need to justify their work. Instead, have everyone provide a quick overview to share information and possible connections for efficiencies. In that way, onsite staff know what telecommuters are working on but in a way that shows equity & respect for all.

Remember that an employee's work option should not change your fundamental management principles & practices. Just alter the conduits or channels or communication methods you use. Stay grounded!

People Work Best When Co-Located

People work best as a team when they are physically co-located. That's the perfect world. When people are physically together, they can better see non-verbals, feel energy, sense attitude – essentially connect as humans do. But the world isn't perfect. And we need to accommodate and adapt as we humans have done since our beginning.

How do we accommodate and adapt? Just look at how we communicate when we're not physically together. A great example of accommodation can be seen in our use of email. Emails contain hieroglyphics such as smiley faces, sad faces, winks, etc to convey attitude and tone since our voices cannot be heard and our body language cannot be seen. Yes, we have returned to our earlier "best practice" of hieroglyphics.

When we communicate, and we are not in person, we seek to close the gap on the missing human element – whether it be seeing, hearing, or touching. Managers of telecommuters need to recognize this at a level and depth beyond their previous awareness…and act on it.

How might we act on it? When meeting with telecommuters, use webcams – see each other. Use an on-demand collaboration, online meeting, web conferencing or video conferencing application such as GoToMeeting, WebEx, LiveMeeting, etc. Set communication expectations for telecommuters and non-telecommuters. Bring telecommuters together periodically to maintain and build relationships.

There's no substitute for the real thing…but we can do our best to close the gap as creatively as we can with the available tools and technologies.